Pre Season Rankings

I'm terribly confused by rankings. Barnhart's are a great example. Let me get this straight: We were 8-5, with a terrilble QB, the worst T.O. ratio in the nation (basically), and a defense that looked like a pop-warner team. With THAT team, we went TO Arkansas and blasted them w/ 51 points (Richard Samuel started that game at RB and Washaun never saw the field) and we went TO Tech and ran them 30-24. Arkansas also when 8-5 last year and has Mallet-head back but has done little besides cross it's fingers to fix that terrible D that made Joe Cox look more like Joe Montana. Tech lost a plethora of talented guys, returning basically only Nesbitt and Allen. They lost difference makers (Dwyer, Thomas, Morgan, Burnett).

On the other hand, we will start a QB not named Joe Cox, which is a step up. One has to figure we pick up more than 2 fumbles this year. We fired our DC, brought in an NFL fire-breather, and decided to take our head out of our rear-end on special teams. Plus, we finally figured out late in the year that King and Ealey can handle the offensive load just fine. And didn't we play Tech w/o AJ Green? Wow, we beat Arky and Tech and never played either of them w/ BOTH Ealey and Green together, our two best offensive players?

So, both of them come to Athens and, yet, Barnhart (and his is indicative of everyone else's) has UGA at #21, Tech at #15 and Arky at #16. I'm not saying we're a top 15 team, I'm just hard pressed to figure out how those 2 numbskull teams are 5 spots better than us.

Boy, you say it every year, but those first 2 conference games are ginormous. If we can get through (fake)SC and Arky 3-0 and head to starkville and Boulder w/ a little confidence, I feel good about us.

Can't wait for fall.